The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1884. THE AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1684, 13 May 1884, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1884. THE AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

Op of the practical questions which will be debated during the coining session will be the Auckland railway, that long line of some two hundred miles which is to connect , the railways already constructed in the northern and southern parts of tho North Island. The Legislature in 1882 affirmed the expediency of this work by passing a measure entitled ' The North Island Main Trunk Line Railway Loan Act," under which a million of money car. he borrowed for ; this purpose, but it does not follow from this that tho line will as a matter of course be constructed, Before the million can be borrowed the House of Representatives will have to adopt a surveyed plan of one of tho proposed routes, so.that Parliament virtually can veto the line. It may be taken lor granted that the Montgomery party will oppose the construction of the line, and that, the Ministerial party and the Grey party will support it, hut it does not necessarily follow'that the stronger party which favors it will carry the day, The feeling throughout the colony against further borrowing is getting stronger,.and though every member -in the North Island and every newspaper may be supposed to advocate the construction of tiiis section of the trunk, lino, there are yet some, who, looking at' the question from a broad colonial point of view,, cannot honestly bold , up their hands for it, New Zealand is now in such a position that it cannot afford to undertake a single milo of new work without some certainty that it will pay interest, If wo were to ask whether the million proposed to be expended in tho particular work would bear interest for the next ten years, we believo tho answer of any unprejudiced authority would be a decided "No." If we went still further and asked' whether tbo million proposed to be borrowed will complete the work- to be undertaken, the answer would be also in the negative. What the borrowing of this million means is an' annual charge of fifty or sixty thousands of pounds per annum for interest for many years to come, We would like a through line to Auckland, but will it pay the Wairarapa to contribute' from ,£I,OOO to £1,500 per annum additional -taxation in order to obtain one. We shall have inevitably to pay our share of the cost ;of this undertaking,. and that share for many years to come is not likely to be less than the amount wo have named. While we fully appreciate the.direct

and inuireofc advantages of. getting the North Island Trunk Railway completed lit Jifl cost of tliß colony, we can see that our own share ot the cost iti! ,the Wairarapa is - inoi'o, tliau we ' can, afford) and we can quite'understiiiid the feeling of . the Middle Island districts which have a less direct interest in than ourselves.